Abbi Murphy Responds to Captain Lee Rosbach's Criticism of Her Below Deck Departure

Abbi Murphy decided to leave this season of Below Deck in the November 11 episode, and Captain Lee Rosbach did not hold back his disappointment over the deckhand's departure.

The Below Deck boss said during the episode that he "didn't see this coming at all" after Ashton Pienaar told him that Abbi would be leaving the season. "Classic example of mouth writing a check that your ass can't cash," he said in an interview during the episode. "You're on a beautiful boat in an exotic location, you're getting paid for what most people would do for nothing, and you think life sucks. Are you kidding me?"

After Captain Lee bid Abbi one last farewell as she disembarked the Valor during the episode (clip above), he said in an interview, "There's gonna be a lot of things in life that she's just gonna bail on, and that tells me that Abbi's not cut out for yachting. Yachting's not for quitters."

Abbi explained her decision to leave this season of Below Deck during a phone interview with The Daily Dish prior to Monday night's episode airing. "I decided to leave, I would say, for a couple reasons. I wasn’t very comfortable in the situation. I felt like I wasn’t myself in the situation, and, for me, when I feel like I’m defeated by my environment, I wanna excuse myself from it. I know that I made a commitment, and it was very hard for me to walk out of that commitment, but I think it was best for myself and it was best for my future — even with my future marriage — that I left," she said. "I think that proves even that I took my engagement very seriously because I don’t think you should be newly engaged and in, you know, a type of environment with a lot of partying and a lot of different elements with guys and this and that. You should probably step out of it and focus on your future that will last longer than your time on the boat."

Captain Lee later noted on Twitter that he was "not surprised" that Abbi chose to end her time as part of the Valor crew this season. "One should not embark on the task, if you are not willing to see it through," he said. "You not only disappoint yourself, but you let everyone else down."

He added in another tweet, "It may not have been for you, but quitting before you finish your commitment is not good for you at all. Seeing it [through], shows what you are made of."

In response to Captain Lee questioning her professionalism on Twitter, Abbi said, "I had to be professional working for the Governor, working in law, where I was taken seriously and loved what I was doing. I just wasn’t cut out for that type of yachting. First try so I didn’t know until I was there."

Abbi told The Daily Dish that she had a good relationship with Captain Lee while working for him this season. "On the boat, I really thought that I had a good relationship with Captain Lee. We had some really great conversations. He gave me really good advice," she recalled. "But now watching the show, I’m like, oh, maybe that didn’t come across very well. But while I was there, I really liked working for Captain Lee. He was always open to have a discussion and share stories and give advice. He was a really good guy."

So she decided to agree to disagree with Captain Lee when it came to his thoughts on her departure. "I understand if you don’t understand that the decision was good for my mental health and my future," she tweeted in response to the Below Deck boss. "On the boat, you were very kind and respectful to me, and I believe you’re a good guy and a good leader. All the best to you and good luck on the rest of the season!"

Abbi also noted on Twitter, "It was really sad to go and I struggled with the decision a lot." She also said that she was sorry to have exited while her fellow deckhand, Tanner Sterback, was under the weather, essentially leaving the deck crew down two people. "Sad to say bye to everyone, even more difficult to leave, knowing I’m letting them go a man-down," Abbi tweeted. "I hope they replace me with someone who will love it, [and] who knows what they’re doing! Hope the guys will be better off in the end! #goodtimes [and] good luck [Ashton], [Tanner], and [Brian de Saint Pern]."

But ultimately, Abbi said that life is too short to be miserable. "If you aren’t happy with what you’re doing and you know what you love is waiting for you, why not go for it?" she tweeted. "Life is too short, and nobody is guaranteed a tomorrow."

Abbi said that she doesn't have any regrets when it comes to leaving this season of Below Deck. "No I was in a bad situation for myself there. So far, when I set my mind to something, I go for it [100 percent] in my life. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that way on Valor," she tweeted. "But now I’m lucky to be married and doing what I love everyday with who I love. It all worked out!"

After this season of Below Deck, Abbi married Patrik, to whom she got engaged via text message earlier this season. The two wed at the town hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

She also got back to working in sailing as the first mate to Patrik, who works as the skipper, on charters on Syros Island in the Cyclades in Greece. Since the sailing charter season ended in October, Abbi told The Daily Dish that she and Patrik have just been relaxing before it starts up again in the summer. 

Abbi hopes to get her captain's license in the spring. She also has many other ambitions, including teaching English online, coding websites, marketing, and growing the charter business.

Relive Abbi's time on Below Deck Season 7, below.

Is Abbi Murphy Quitting Below Deck?